So when the Samaritans came to him, they asked him to stay with them, and he stayed there two days. And many more believed because of his word. They said to the woman, “It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is indeed the Savior of the world.”

John 4:39-42

So when the Samaritans came to him, they asked him to stay with them, and he stayed there two days. And many more believed because of his word. They said to the woman, “It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is indeed the Savior of the world.” John 4:40-42

I continue my study of John, and today, I unpack John 4:39-42 using the Sword Bible Study Method. After a brief focus on the disciples reaction to Jesus' interaction with the Samaritan woman at the well (vv27-30), including their urging that He eat (vv31-37), the text for today comes back to the Samaritan woman's response to Jesus as well as to the response of the Samaritans townspeople.  

• What do we learn from the passage about God?: The text emphasizes God's attribute as omniscient - v39.  Yes, God does act with intent and a plan, but He also responds to requests (aka prayer).  While v40 is not explicitly a prayer per the text, we must see how the Samaritans' request that He "stay with them" as at least something akin to prayer (see also this Bible dictionary entry on prayer).  Jesus is also identified as Savior of the world (v42) and this is key as the gospel message unfolds both in subsequent chapters of John, the other gospel books (Matthew, Mark, Luke), and throughout the New Testament (particularly Acts and Paul's writings based on His mission journeys.  Jesus seeks for us to take the message to "all nations" (Matthew 28:20).  
• What do we learn from the passage about people?: The Samaritan's testimony is described as powerful - v39. All believers have a powerful story to tell about how they came to faith.  We may be tempted to not see our story as dramatic or glamorous, but this is nonsense!  God saved each of us while still an enemy and hostile to Him - Romans 5:10 is a powerful reminder to this as this verse shares that we are not only reconciled to God through Christ but also saved...each of us has sin that traps us and God sets us free if we submit to Him and allow Him to work in and through us (see John 15:5). Time with God (vv40-42) is seen as powerful - if we earnestly seek Him, we will find Him (Jeremiah 29:13).    
• Is there anything from the passage God wants us to obey (SPEC: Sins to avoid,Promises to claim, Examples to follow, Commands to obey?): Avoid the sin of omission by falling prey to the false belief that your testimony is not worth hearing.  Follow the Samaritan woman's example by sharing your testimony and the townspeople's example to seek God and to interact with Him.  Claim the promise that Jesus is Savior of the world!  Obey God's command to share the gospel with the whole world.     

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My Prayer: Father God, You are an incredible God who loves, saves and works in and through us to make believers like me more like You - thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of such blessings....my sin is great and it continues...daily.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please continue to heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.  

“Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation[.]"

Revelation 5:9

“Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation[.]" Revelation 5:9

I agree with this post on DesiringGod.com that states that Holy Week is the most important week in all of history. While Holy Week and Easter have passed, I do want to read to completion John Piper's 50-day devotional Fifty Reasons Why Jesus Came to Die. Today I read reason #45: To Ransom People from Every Tribe and Language and People and Nation.  Building on yesterday's devotion where Piper shared how Christ's death on the cross tore down the wall of hostility between different races and ethnicities, today's devotion emphasizes how Christ came to save people from all nations and tribes.  The devotion opens by describing end times prophesied in Revelation 5.  John shares how he saw a scroll sealed with seven seals - Piper describes this scroll as "signif[ying] the unfolding of world history in the future - and John weeps because he did not think there was anyone  to open the scroll.  John then hears a voice from a heavenly being that Jesus, who is now visible to John, because He has conquered through His death and resurrection, is able to open the scroll.  The heavenly beings then worship Christ and sing a new song - Revelation 5:9 - that "announces that it is the death of Christ that makes him worthy to open the scroll of history. The implication is that Christ’s death was necessary to accomplish God’s global purposes in history....Christ died to save a great diversity of peoples. Sin is no respecter of cultures. All peoples have sinned. Every race and culture needs to be reconciled to God. As the disease of sin is global, so the remedy is global."  The devotion then points to scripture that amplifies this claim - see John 12:32, Psalm 22:27, 67:4, Luke 24:6-7, and Matthew 28:19.  The devotion winds down with Piper first sharing that "Jesus Christ is not a tribal deity. He does not belong to one culture or one ethnic group" - see also John 1:29 and Romans 10:12-13. The final words of the devotion then encourage non-believers to repent, be saved, and to "join the great global band of the redeemed." Amen!

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My Prayer: Father God You are an amazing God who is able to bring about peace and unity like no other - and You are able to bring about peace in my heart such that I can bring my cares and concerns to You.  Thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of my salvation nor any of the blessings You pour out for me. My sin is great and it is daily.  Please forgive me, and help me turn from and overcome such sin and turn towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please continue to heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, saying, "Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him."

Matthew 2

Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, saying, "Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him." Matthew 2:1-2

I maintain a pause of my study of 1 Corinthians as I continue using DesiringGod.com's Advent devotions where I pick up on Day 7.  Here, John Piper unpacks Matthew 2:1-2.  Piper first contrasts Matthew's account of the gospel with Luke's (see Luke 2:8-18 and also post yesterday). Piper shares: "Unlike Luke, Matthew does not tell us about the shepherds coming to visit Jesus in the stable. His focus is immediately on foreigners — Gentiles, non-Jews — coming from the east to worship Jesus."  Piper then highlights how Matthew's gospel both starts and ends with a focus on how Jesus "[was/is] a universal Messiah for all the nations, not just for Jews."  Piper continues: "Here the first worshipers are court magicians, or astrologers, or wise men not from Israel but from the East — perhaps from Babylon. They were Gentiles. Unclean, according to the Old Testament ceremonial laws."  Of course we know from Matthew 28:19-20 Jesus's words from the Great Commission that gospel is not just for Jews but "all nations."  The devotion then refers us to Isaiah 60:3 as the devotion pivots to how Matthew's focus on non-Jews not only opened the door for Gentiles to be saved, "it added proof that [Jesus] was the Messiah. Because one of the repeated prophecies was that the nations and kings would, in fact, come to him as the ruler of the world." Piper concludes the devotion by sharing that "Matthew adds proof to the messiahship of Jesus and shows that he is Messiah — a King, and Promise-Fulfiller — for all the nations, not just Israel."

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My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an awesome God who loves me and who is full of grace and compassion for me.  Thank You Jesus for including me in Your plan to be saved and so many others.  I am not deserving of such love and compassion.  My sin is great and it continues...daily.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.  

Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, saying, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”

Matthew 2

Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, saying, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” Matthew 2:1-2

This morning, my focus is DesiringGod.com's Solid Joys daily devotion, where John Piper seeks for believers to prepare our hearts for Christmas.  Today's Solid Joys daily devotion marks day 7 of Advent, and today John Piper contrasts Luke's gospel focus of visitors - shepherds in the field (see Luke 2:8-20) - to Jesus in the manger, to Matthew's focus of the wise men visitors from the east - the Magi. Piper points out that these wise men - Magi - were not Jews, but instead foreigners, perhaps from Babylon.  He then reminds us that "Matthew portrays Jesus at the beginning and ending of his Gospel as a universal Messiah for all the nations, not just for Jews" (see also Matthew 28:18-19 where Jesus gives believers the Great Commission). Piper wraps the devotion by sharing how Matthew's portrayal (and contrast from Luke's) "not only opened the door for us Gentiles to rejoice in the Messiah; it added proof that he was the Messiah. Because one of the repeated prophecies was that the nations and kings would, in fact, come to him as the ruler of the world." We are referred to Isaiah 60:3 for one of these prophecies. Matthew's gospel serves as "proof to the messiahship of Jesus and shows that he is Messiah — a King, and Promise-Fulfiller — for all the nations, not just Israel."  Rejoice in Jesus as the fulfillment of our promised King and go and tell it on the mountains!

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My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are a good, good Father, and all of Your promises come true.  You are the Promised King, the Messiah, and my Lord and Savior.  Thank You Jesus for all that You are and do.  I am not deserving of the blessings You pour out for me.  My sin is great and it continues...daily.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

You shall see, and your heart shall rejoice; your bones shall flourish like the grass; and the hand of the Lord shall be known to his servants, and he shall show his indignation against his enemies.

Isaiah 64-66

You shall see, and your heart shall rejoice; your bones shall flourish like the grass; and the hand of the Lord shall be known to his servants, and he shall show his indignation against his enemies. Isaiah 66:14

I continue my deep dive of Isaiah, based on the Precept Upon Precept study series.  My study of Isaiah moves on to day 4 (of 5) of week 23, which will bring my study of Isaiah to a close as it covers Isaiah 64-66.  Day 4 focuses on Isaiah 66, where once again, we see contrasting outcomes for those who practice empty sacrificial rituals and do not truly seek and love God (v3-4, 15-17, 24), vs those who are contrite in heart and humble - fearing and seeking God and loving Him (v2, 10-14).  We see a messianic prophecy and of the final days, and how God's kingdom extends beyond Jerusalem to all nations to include Jews and Gentiles alike.  The outcome of course for those who forsake God is sobering indeed (v24), but believers rejoice in the hope we have in Christ! 

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My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an incredible God who loves me and who is full of grace and compassion for me - I am not deserving of my salvation but You saved me anyway...thank You Jesus for the hope You give me.  Yet my sin is great and it continues.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.